When I asked my son where he would like to go in Europe for his High School Graduation trip, he replied with “somewhere I can see views and drink beer”…so, Germany it was! We did a trip in early summer 2023 with my two kids that were 18 and 21 at the time (younger kids would also be great on this trip), starting our trip with 3 days in Munich, and then going on to Salzburg, Austria and Prague, Czech Republic. I’ll cover those two destinations in separate posts. I had been to Frankfurt, Hannover, and Berlin previously, but this was my first time to Munich too, so it was fun to plan. We stayed in Munich for the most part, aside from a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, which is a must-do! If you’d prefer to stay longer, you could spread this itinerary over a couple more days, or take a day trip like this one to the Dachau Concentration Camp or this one to Eagle’s Nest (we did this one from Salzburg instead so that we could include a salt mine tour). Pack up your Lederhosen, and let’s head to Munich!
Here is a sample 3-day itinerary for Munich, based on our family trip with adult kids in June:
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DAY 1: ARRIVAL, RIVER SURFERS, MARIENPLATZ, AND BEER GARDENS
Assuming you arrive in the morning after many hours of travel, hopefully you got some rest on the plane and are ready to hit the ground running! We arrived early morning and attempted to get an Uber at the airport, but with four adults and four large suitcases, we couldn’t seem to get a large enough car to take us! We finally found a van-sized taxi and were on our way to our hotel, the Hilton Munich City. This hotel was a great choice…all of the amenities we needed, a great location (just a 20 minute walk to Marienplatz the main square), and didn’t break the bank. Of course our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, so we freshened up quickly in the lobby bathroom, handed our luggage off to the hotel, and headed out for a bite to eat. There’s a great little cafe close to the hotel called Backspielhaus Haidhausen, that is the perfect spot for a sandwich, breakfast, and a great cup of tea or coffee to keep you moving.
If you read my post on 32 Tips for Traveling Overseas with Ease, you’ll know that the best thing to do on Day 1 is to get outside and keep moving so that you can adjust to the time. After getting a bite to eat and some caffeine, start walking toward the Eisbachwelle River Surfers at the South end of the English Garden. It’s fun to sit and watch the locals try to catch a wave on this very narrow section of the river!
Depending on what time of day it is, you can continue North to explore the English Gardens, or if you are like us and it’s already after lunch time, head toward Marienplatz which is the largest square in Munich and houses the Rathaus Glockenspiel. Along the way, you’ll pass by several historical and state buildings, the Residenz Munchen (palace and gardens) and Feldherrnhalle. There’s also a Starbucks along the way, if you need another caffeine fix!
Be sure to plan your afternoon around the Glockenspiel “performance” that happens each day at 11AM and 12PM (and 5PM from March through October). It lasts about 15 minutes and is worth checking out. There are a lot of places to shop, eat, and drink around the square.
When in Munich…you must stop by one of the many beer gardens and have a local beer and pretzel. We wandered down the street back toward the hotel, and there were several along the way. We chose Schneider Brauhaus because of it’s fun outdoor area covered with trees, but there are plenty of others to choose from!
By this point, you’re probably starting to hit a wall…I know we were! We stopped for dinner at Riva Bar, a great spot for pasta, pizza, and an aperol spritz or another beer. We made it up until about 7PM, but then called it a night.
DAY 2: NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE DAY TOUR
On Day 2, I highly recommend booking a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, which was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century. The castle itself is amazing to see, but the trip through Bavaria is almost as enjoyable…it looks like the Germany you picture in your mind. The story of King Ludwig II is pretty fascinating as well.
We started the day early (not a problem since we were in bed so early the night before!) with breakfast at the hotel, and then Ubered to the meeting spot to start the tour. It’s about a 1.5 hour bus ride that takes you to the village of Hohenschwangau near the castle. Your tour guide will give you time to grab lunch on your own (we sat on the terrace at Alpenstuben and had a proper German lunch…it was delicious) and explore the shops a bit. Then we wandered down the road a little further to check out the Alpsee Schwangau Lake, which had beautiful views.
After exploring on our own, we met back up with our Tour Guide who gave us more history about the castle and the king before we walked up to the entrance. Note that entry fee for the castle was not included and required cash. The tour of the inside of the castle is pretty brief (about 30 minutes), and then you can also walk out to a suspension bridge where you can snap pictures of the castle from afar.
Once we came back down from the castle, there was a little more free time before the bus was heading back to Munich, so we grabbed a bite to eat on the patio at Restaurant Kainz. In total, the tour was about 10 hours…a pretty long day, but a very memorable and worthwhile trip. Two days in and we accomplished views and beer…not too shabby!
DAY 3: BMW MUSEUM, VIKTUALIENMARKT, AND HOFBRAUHAUS
After grabbing a quick breakfast at the hotel again, we decided to check out the BMW Welt Museum. We happen to love cars and have owned several BMW’s over the years, so this was a must-do on our list. It’s not necessary to buy tickets in advance; just Uber to the museum and decide on the tour you’d like once you arrive. It’s about a 15 minute drive from the Hilton. BMW Welt is also right across the street from Olympiapark Munchen (the Munich Olympic Park), which would be neat to tour as well. We spent about 1.5 hours checking out all of the new cars and then exploring the museum, and then had lunch on the terrace at the cafe on site.
For the afternoon of Day 3, there are a few options to consider…you could check out the Olympiapark, you could do a Third Reich Tour like this one through Viator, or a Self-Guided Third Reich Tour like this one if you want to go at your own pace. We chose to visit the Viktualienmarkt to see the famous Maypole (we learned that Maypoles were in each village and each branch represents a service that is offered there…genius!) and to check out all of the fresh produce, souvenirs, and of course…another beer garden. You could grab the essentials here to have a picnic in the park for dinner, but we had other plans…
…the famous Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall! The food is just so-so, but the beer is good, there is live music, and it’s one of the oldest (and probably the most famous) beer hall in Munich, dating back to the 16th century. There’s a great gift shop on site, plenty to see, and singalongs too. Be sure to make a reservation well in advance!
After dinner, since it was our last night, we wandered around the Marienplatz area once more to see what else we could find. We stumbled upon the Munich Cathedral, where the famous “devil’s footprint” is. Construction on this cathedral began in 1468! Legend has it that the man in charge of the project was over-budget, so he made a deal with the devil…if the devil helped fund the rest of the project, he would not include any windows in the Cathedral, making it a place of darkness. When the devil came back years later and found there were indeed windows and he had been tricked, he stomped his foot so fiercely, that he left an imprint in the floor.
That rounded out Day 3 for us. We packed a lot in to our three days in Munich, and were ready to move on to our next destination, Salzburg, Austria! It’s an easy train ride from Munich…I’ll cover all the details on that leg of our trip in my next post. Definitely worth adding to your stay if you are in this area.